Panel assembly and concealed panel fastener



Jan. 31, 1967 F. R. ASHBY ETAL 3,300,924

PANEL ASSEMBLY AND GONCEALED PANEL FASTENER Filed Aug. 21, 1963 2Sheets-Sheet 1 F|G.Z

FREDE ASHBY Inventors HAROLD V. ETTORE Byfi w%- Attorney Jan. 31, 1967F. R. ASHBY ETAL PANEL ASSEMBLY AND CONCEALED PANEL FASTENER Filed Aug.21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.

FREDE ASHBY Inventors fi v Attorney HAROLD V. ETTORE United StatesPatent Office 353M324 Patented Jan. 31, 1967 3,300,924 PANEL ASSEMBLYAND CGNCEALED PANEL FASTENER Frederick R. Ashby, Carmel, and Harold V.Ettore, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., assignors to United States PlywoodCorporation, New York, N.Y.

Filed Aug. 21, 1963, Ser. No. 303,604 1 Claim. (Cl. 52-265) The presentinvention is concerned With a unique and novel hook type fastener and apanel combination of the same. The invention is more particularlyconcerned with a plywood-hook fastener combination whereby plywoodpanels or equivalent units may be readily butt jointed and with easemounted to a wall without showing the means by which the same aremounted. The invention is especially concerned with a plywoodpanel-concealed fastener combination which is used in furthercombination with a particular style of wall furring. In accordance withone specific adaptation of the present invention, horizontal furring ispositioned a predetermined distance from the wall, preferably by meansof being nailed or affixed to vertical furring elements in contact withthe wall. In accordance with a second specific adaptation of theinvention, vertical furring is positioned a predetermined distance fromthe wall, preferably by means of being nailed or affixed to horizontalfurring elements in contact with the wall. Then the panel-hook fastenercombination of the present invention is readily affixed to the offsethorizontal or offset vertical furring elements in a manner ashereinafter described.

It is Well known in the art and in the building trades of thedesirability of affixing panels such as decorative panels andarchitectural grade panels to walls without the necessity of facenailing these panels or of having other visible affixing means. This isdesirable in order to enhance the beauty, the warmth and the overalldesirability of the decorative paneled wall. Furthermore, if the panelis factory finished, the face nailing or face attaching destroys theuniform film on the face, or if the panel is not factory finished, theapplication of liquid finishes thereafter over face nailing is notuniformly pleasing to the eye.

In order to attain this desired end of concealed and effectiveattachment of panels to a 'Wall, various types of concealed clips andaffixing means have been devised. For example, one type of fastenerheretofore known in the art is a clip unit which has prongs or earswhich extend into the side of the panel. These prongs are affixed to thebase part of the clip, which base is then nailed to the stud. The nextpanel on the butting edge to the preceding panel has attached thereto alip or clip which extends underneath the already affixed panel and theunits are thus butt jointed. While clips or affixing means of thisdescribed type are entirely suitable, they do have the disadvantage inthat once they are nailed to the stud it is relatively difiicult toadjust one panel with respect to another panel. On the other hand, theclip or panel-clip combination of the present invention used inconjunction with offset horizontal or offset vertical studding in effectgives a floating joint which permits the installer a reasonableallowance for error and adjustment since the panel need only be raisedor moved a reasonable distance with respect to the adjacent panel.

The present invention may be readily understood by reference to thedrawings illustrating some modifications and adaptations of the same.FIGURES 1a and 1b illustrate in some detail the fastener or clip per se.FIG- URE 2 illustrates the panel-clip combination used in conjunctionwith offset horizontal furring strips. This figure by rotation of 90will also illustrate the panel-clip combination used in conjunction withoffset vertical furring strips. FIGURE 3 is a front view of butt jointedpanels used in conjunction with a plurality of offset horizontal furringstrips.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 1, 1a shows a side view of the clipfastener of the present invention. The clip consists of a substantiallyvertical section 1, a substantially horizontal section 2, and a hooksection 3. Extending through vertical section 1 are a plurality of holesor apertures 5 and 4. Screws or nails are adapted to pass through theseholes to affix the fastener or hook element to the panel or other fiatmaterials which are to be mounted on a wall. FIGURE 1b is a front viewof the fastener of the present invention illustrated in 1a. The exactconfiguration and measurements of the fastener may be varied appreciablydepending upon the type of material to be wall mounted and the thicknessand weight of the panel. A set of desirable measurements are illustratedin FIGURES 1a and 1b. The clips may be of any satisfactory metal, suchas steel, and may be suitably plated to withstand wear and rust, such aswith cadmium or other plating material.

7 FIGURE 2 shows the panel-fastener combination and its method ofmounting the same to offset horizontal furring strips which are mountedto other vertical furring strips which are directly attached to anexisting wall. Similar elements as described in FIGURES 1a and 1b aresimilarly numbered. The fiat vertical section 1 of the clip is affixedto panel 10 by means of screws or nails 11. Attached to existing wall 12are vertical furring elements 13 supporting offset horizontal furringelements 14. Thus, the panel-fastener combination of the presentinvention may be raised up and firmly and permanently positioned inplace by a lever 15 supported on a block 16 which, in turn, is supportedon floor 17. As the panel is moved upwardly, hook 3 is forced outwardlyabout offset horizontal strip 14 and is moved into position about theback of furring strip 14.

As pointed out heretofore, this firmly and permanently affixes the panelto the offset horizontal furring strip or strips, yet secures a floatingjoint permitting ready adjustment of one panel with respect to anotherpanel. This makes possible a very close butted joint between the panelswhich greatly enhances the beauty of the final panel wall. Furthermore,this adjustment is easily accomplished, as,

' for example, by means of a block and hammer.

Another adaptation of the invention is illustrated by rotating FIGURE 2,This presents a top view of the assembly rather than a side view ashereinbefore described with respect to FIGURE 2. Horizontal furringstrips 113 are directly afixed to wall 12. Offset vertical furringstrips 14 are then attached to horizontal furring strips 13. Panel 10 incombination with the fastener assembly of the present invention is thenfirmly positioned on the vertical strip 14 by imparting to panel 10 alateral motion whereby hook 13 will move laterally around the back ofstrip 14 in a manner to firmly and permanently affix panel 10 to wall 12in the manner as illustrated.

Referring specifically to FIGURE 3, two panels 20 and 21 are buttjointed and mounted to offset horizontal furring strips 22 by means of aplurality of clips 23 which clips position themselves around the backedge of the furring strips as the panel is raised as described. Thepanels are pushed or moved upwardly against the ceiling 24 providing fora base strip or baseboard 25.

Again referring to FIGURE 3, if offset vertical furring is utilized withthe panel-hook combination of the present invention, then furring strips22 would be attached directly to the wall. Vertical furring strips 13 inturn are attached to horizontal furring strips 22, thus providing anopen area between themselves and the Wall. Hooks 23 would be aflixedparallel to strips 22 so as to seat behind strips 13 when the panel isgiven lateral movement.

Thus, the present invention is concerned with a hook or concealedfastener-panel assembly combination which permits panels to be readilymounted on furring strips which are positioned from to 2 or 3" away fromthe wall itself. The hook or clasp functions to move about the back edgeof the offset horizontal or offset vertical furring strips as the panelis moved upwardly downwardly or laterally in either direction.

While the preferred assembly for mounting to a wall is a wood panel suchas a plywood panel-fastener combination, it is to be understood that thesame assembly can be utilized using other types of panels as, forexample, a plaster board, asbestos board, and other types of materialsfor mounting to walls. The plywood panels may be of any size ordimensions such as, for example, 4 x 8' panels having thicknessesvarying from W to 1" and more. It is also to be understood that thefurring strips may comprise wood, metal or other suitable materials.

As mentioned, under certain conditions, it may be desirable to, ineffect, reverse the hook or fastener with respect to a panel so as tohave the hook come down and seat over the top of the horizontal furringstrips. Under these conditions, a dentil or equivalent means is used atthe ceiling so as to secure a finished wall.

For installation, it is obvious that if the wall is furred outhorizontally or vertically as described, it is preferred that a gap ofat least be provided between the existing wall and back of the offsetfurring strip. As pointed out heretofore, this gap may be secured orprovided by furring vertically and then horizontally or firsthorizontally and then vertically. The panel as, for example, a A" panelis put face downwardly on a work table or other supporting means. Thefasteners are then located on the back of the panel in accordance withthe furring schedule or pattern. Normally the nonoffset furring stripsare positioned from 16 to 20 apart and the offset strips are positionedanywhere from 16 to 4' apart. In many instances, it may be desirable toonly provide an upper offset horizontal and lower offset horizontalfurring strips. Under these conditions, the fasteners are positionedwith the rounded part pointing toward the top of the panel. If the panelis a A, panel, the fasteners are secured to the panel preferably with aA flathead screw.

If horizontal offset strips are used, the lever is placed under thepanel and the panel forced upwardly until the panel is tight to theceiling. At this point in construction, it may be desirable to toenailthe bottom edge of the panel to support the panel until the base stripis applied.

Thus, the panel-clip combination of the present invention provides afloating joint, thus insuring a tight butt joint between the respectivepanels. Any gap in the joint can be readily closed by forcing the panelsideways with a suitable block and hammer. The floating joint gives theinstaller a reasonable allowance for error since the panel need only beraised within a reasonable distance to the adjacent panel and then movedas described hereinbefore. The panels can be removed without damage andmay be readily reinstalled on the same furring without the necessity ofusing new fasteners or clips. The panels can also be moved to a newlocation and installed over new furring.

While the present invention has been described utilizing thepanel-fastener combination in conjunction with or in combination with aparticular type of furring technique for use on a blank wall, it iswithin the concept of the present invention to use the panel-clipcombination with respect to new construction wherein open studding isavailable. Generally, vertical studding is reinforced by horizontalcross-studding so as to impart greater structural strength. Areas can beprovided between the crossstudding and the outer wall of the structureso as to permit the panel-clip combination to be installed directly onthe upright studding. The clip would position itself in the open areabehind the cross-studding and the outer wall. The installation of panelswith a side lever or lateral motion as well as the floor lever makes thesystem extremely flexible. Panels may be installed around door bucks,cutouts, windows and the like with lateral level and, if desired, couldbe raised with a floor or ceiling lever. In many applications thearchitectural panels are installed over masonry walls. The masonry wallsfunction as a fire stop construction with metal or wood furring embeddedin the masonry.

The present assembly eliminates the need for affixing panels through theface and thus marring its appearance. The assembly of the presentinvention is also far superior to other complicated fastening systems orgluing techniques. Thus, the present invention is concerned with theinstallation of architectural grade panels over a straight run or overconstructions including door openings, wall cutouts, windows and thelike.

What is claimed is:

The combination of decorative plywood panel wall assembly, foundationand ceiling, which comprises a first set of spaced furring membersattached directly to said foundation wall, a second set of horizontaloffset furring members attached to said first set of furring members inperpendicular relation thereto, a relatively flat panelfastenercombination adapted to be attached to said second set of furring memberson upward movement which comprises a relatively flat decorative woodpanel having rigidly attached thereto a fastener, said fastenerconsisting of a first flat section rigidly attached to said flat panel,a second flat section substantially perpendicular to said first flatsection and the length of which is approximately equal to the thicknessof said second set of furring members, and a third flexible hook sectionextending substantially perpendicularly from said second flat sectionand opened upwardly, said flexible hook section being bent inwardly andcurving outwardly at its end and positioned behind said second set offurring members; the fastener frictionally secured thereto and providingthe sole means of supporting said panel, said decorative plywood panelrigidly attached to said foundation wall and abutting the ceiling.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,364,357 1/1921Dorman 52489 1,980,900 11/1934 Bemis 52285 2,082,314 6/1937 Venzie 525062,708,292 5/ 1955 Budai 2872092.6 X 2,796,158 6/1957 Miles et al. 524892,833,001 5/1958 Montefalco 52403 2,858,916 11/1958 Josephs 52902,962,252 11/ 1960 Frank 248-4265 3,103,708 9/ 1963 Pomeroy et al. 522843,173,178 3/1965 Kumburis 52511 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. STENZEL, Assistant Examiner,

